App for Selling Public Parking Spots Suspends Service in San Francisco

MonkeyParking, an app that allows users to buy and sell parking spaces, suspended activity in San Francisco after the Rome-based startup received a cease-and-desist letter from the city last month. San Francisco was the service’s only location in the U.S.

A law in San Francisco forbids the selling or renting of public parking spaces. Those who violate the law will be charged a fine up to $300.

In announcing that its bidding service had been “temporarily disabled” Thursday, MonkeyParking wrote on its website, “Our mission is to get rid of circling the block turning a random parking process into a predictable one, saving people time while also reducing traffic congestion and generated pollution.”

It added, “We want to achieve our mission within the intent and letter of the law and in full cooperation with the local authorities.”